The 2019 Australian election

Aussies go to the polls in federal elections in a few hours, in an atmosphere that is less than favorable for either of the major parties. I had gone back and forth in my mind about posting this or not, given the vote was forecast to be so close. The polls show a victory for Labor, but polls have been known to be wrong – witness Donald Trump. If Labor is victorious, the margin will probably be slim. But the same for the Libs as well. The astrology for the day will give us some clues, though, and it shows a probable opposition victory. But before Labor supporters get too excited, there is more to the story than meets the eye. There is a wild card here, which finally prompted me to do this post.

The chart I use for Australia is the ‘swearing-in chart’, set for 1:35 in the afternoon of 1 Jan 1901 in Sydney. The chart is below (bigger):

This chart has proven itself time and again. It was originally put forward by Australian astrologer, Gwen Stoney. There are three main charts that have been put forward, but the best one by far is the swearing-in chart, the reasons fully explained by Alice Portman, also Australian and for whom I have great respect. The most recent proof of the chart was the latest government spill in the Liberal Party, which installed the now-incumbent PM, Scott Morrison. In that chart we see Uranus squaring the Meridian axis in its retrograde motion, with Mars approaching the square of Uranus/conjunct the MC in the 9th house. I often see that with changes in governments, not necessarily in the type (as in coups), but in changes of style, definitely. That date was 24 Aug 2018. (chart)

All the recent spills have seen the Meridian and Vertex axes quite active, all the angles, really, in various combinations. There was a spill with the Labor leadership in 2010 which ousted PM Kevin Rudd, who by that time was pretty much on the nose. He was ousted by Julia Gillard, Australia’s first female PM, and of interest is that the directed MC (representing the sitting government) squared Australia’s Ceres and the directed Ceres was on Australia’s Vertex axis, showing the influence of women and marking a turning point – the end of white males having sole ‘ownership’ of the highest post in the land. (chart)

In turn, Gillard was in turn deposed by Rudd in 2013 in another spill, and then Labor got trounced in the election called by Rudd for June of that year. Gillard subsequently quit Parliament with the election result. Directed Ceres was on the Oz Pluto (change of the guard – Gillard out). The directed Sun squared the Meridian axis (change in leadership). Directed Saturn was on the Oz Ascendant (conservative win). The directed Descendant was nearing orb of the Oz Ceres (Julie Bishop was re-confirmed as Deputy PM). The directed Vertex axis was square to the Oz Saturn (further indicator of conservative win). (chart)

And then, not to be outdone by Labor, there was a spill in the Liberal Party, with Malcolm Turnbull ousting Tony Abbott on 14 Sep 2015. Directed Saturn was square the Oz Meridian (karma, and more conservative power plays). The Directed Moon was square to the Oz Pluto (power plays again). And directed Mars was on the Oz Saturn, showing the conflicts in the Liberal Party, the conservatives. (chart)

Given that the chart has shown the change of fortunes of Australia’s PMs over time and in recent memory, what do we see now? And what can we likely expect from the election? The chart for this election is below (bigger):

Transiting Uranus is conjunct transiting Venus on the day, both square the MC, but slightly past. That indicates that a change/upset is highly likely. Uranus was similarly placed at the opposite point when Whitlam was ousted in the Great Australian Coup of 1975 (chart). Analysts have tried to pass that off as a financial dispute and ‘constitutional crisis’, but it was a coup by any other name. Transiting Neptune was also conjunct the Oz Mars and square the Oz Venus on that day, showing the spin that was put on the event, the cover-up of events behind the scenes and the deception that was foisted on the Australian public, as well as the influence of secret enemies of the state (Mars rules the 12th house of the chart). Neptune is similarly affecting Australia now, via direction, which will be discussed shortly.

But to the present, the public is mightily dissatisfied with both of the major parties. In addition, the directed Mars and Venus are activating the Oz Sun, the latter ruling the 4th house (opposition parties) and thus favoring the opposition. There are several midpoint trees that come along with that Mars conjunction with the Sun, shown in the box near the MC. What this shows is a ‘fruitful union’. It would indicate a marriage or children in a person’s chart. What it would show in a national chart is formation of a coalition. This is where things get a little dicey when we talk about a probable opposition win.

If Labor cannot carry the day, then they would have to form a coalition to form government. If you want to have a glance of what those possibilities are, there are over fifty parties running. Take your pick. And then, the directed MC is on the Oz south node, indicating the Libs will be taking leaves out of their old playbook, with scare campaigns about Labor and talking about how good the economy is from their own efforts, whereas in point of fact, things aren’t so great in that regard. Housing prices in Oz are going down the tubes, for instance. And the world market is becoming increasingly unstable. Then, there is Trump’s trade war with China, and Australia’s fortunes are closely tied to China these days.

But there is also a note of strangeness, almost perversity in this election, as shown by directed Neptune at the midpoint of and semisquare to both Venus and Mars in the Australian chart. The cosmobiological interpretation of this is a perverse union, or the opposite – a broken union, or disappointments in a union. But both Venus and Mars rule the Horizon axis, and that represents the people and their legal framework. To me, that says one cannot trust the polls, and that there will be protest votes and general disappointment with the outcome of the election. One could take that to mean many things, from any side of the political aisle. And we have not even considered the candidates here.

We don’t have birth times for either Morrison or Shorten, the latter being the Labor candidate and leader of the opposition. They are both Taureans, born with their birthdays a day apart and born a year apart. That makes predicting the outcome, along with everything else, that much more difficult. As to what other Australian astrologers have forecast, Milton Black has already forecast a win for the incumbent, Morrison, but only by a slim margin. Ed Tamplin, on the other hand, forecasts a Shorten win. Jessica Adams leans toward a Morrison win. There are others, for sure, but these three are some of the better known. I do not have a prediction from Alice Portman, but she is very thorough. I’ll be interested to see what she had to say about it after the fact. In my view, though, if either of these guys win, it will be a loss for the average Aussie battler. Here’s why.

Both of the major parties are in the pockets of business, in line with the neo-liberal economic model (not to be confused with the Liberal Party, but part and parcel of it). We are all saddled with that at the moment. That is what is causing much of the instability in the markets we are seeing, austerity for the public and the increasing wealth gap. And economics drive elections. People either know or sense this, too. If people vote for what they perceive to be security, then the Libs will win, because Labor is seen to be fast and loose with economic policy. But, as we see in the US, both of the major parties are doing so. The Libs are just more overt about it. A bit of satire tells the story in typical Aussie style (‘colourful’ language alert):

My take on the election, then? The elections take place just before the full moon, on the 18th. It is a most auspicious date…but probably not for the sitting government. It is also the Wesak moon, with the Sun in Taurus, so both candidates for the major parties will be feeling the heat. In addition, this full moon will mark closure on certain aspects of the economy over time, so that will be a factor in future governments. It will be a tight race, though, and a lot can happen in a few hours, even. But I expect the Libs to be ousted, or to have to take up with some strange bedfellows to form a government. And with the Neptune directed to the Venus/Mars square the voting public will be unpredictable. As a result, any coalitions formed will probably be quite unstable.

There is one thing for certain, though, which is that the major parties are on the nose, as evidenced by the gains being made by the Greens and Pauline Hanson in the polls. And then there is Clive Palmer, who has a lot of money to throw around at the electorate and at advertising. There is a direct correlation between campaign financing and electoral victories.

Having lived in Australia for close to 20 years and being a citizen, I always take an interest in what is going on there. I am not eligible to vote there now, having lived overseas for too long. Regardless, this will be a most interesting election, and mostly because of the following reasons:

The campaign, one of the most bitterly fought in years, has highlighted deep fissures in Australian society. Australians are sharply divided on issues such as renewable energy, climate change, immigration, freedom of speech for religious groups and whether the government should intervene to redistribute wealth or leave it to the markets.

When it comes to it, people will tend to stay with what they know, provided what they know is not too terrible. But we can expect quite a bit of protest voting in this election, like we are seeing worldwide. The 12th house also has a rulership of voters and elections, and Mars rules that house. With Neptune directed to Mars this time around the public is likely to change its mind at the last minute, with the slightest shift in the electoral breeze. It also means the polls could be way off the mark. Come what may, Australian politics for the next three years is going to be quite a roller coaster. There won’t be any more leadership spills, since the laws have been changed. So, whichever way people vote, as to the victor, we are stuck with them until 2022, barring dismissal of the government. But then, that’s a possibility, too, when directed Chiron and its associated midpoints come within orb of the Ascendant late next year. You beauty!